I went to work with a hard southern rockin' reincarnation of Silver Creek in 1994. We played the big clubs in Charllotesville & Harrisonburg Virginia for the rowdy party goers. By the time 1997 rolled around, rap music & karioke had taken a solid hold in the club scene. After a couple of years of that, it was time for me to take a break again. At the time it seemed that nobody really cared about a decent melody or if anybody could actually play or sing. Disheartened, I quit playing altogether for several years.
Pony Express/Silverado/Cooter's Garage Band (Same core band backing different artists)
Occasionally over the years I would get a call from Robby Meadows to fill in with a group aptly named as Pony Express. I began playing part time with them in 2000. At the time, their regular guitar player (Vaughn Thomas, who is an excellent guitarist) was playing with the Statler Brothers, and his schedule conflicted often with the Pony Express schedule. When I pulled out my old music gear, it wasn't pretty. Rust & dry rot had settled into my fingers and my gear. Robby and his crew had been playing a pretty busy schedule and liked to play a lot of traditional country music, and what I call "trick bluegrass". Trick bluegrass features old classics like Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms" and Rocky Top", but played with electric guitar, piano, and whoever else could keep up. I felt like the dog that was hooked to the bumper of the car in National Lampoon's "Vacation". Every time we went out to play I was getting drug down the road behind them (morephetically speaking, of course!) One night after getting all raspberried up, I had to make a decision- I had to catch up or quit. So began wood-shedding hard every night and eventually I caught up.
2001 marked the departure of Vaughn Thomas from the band, and I became the full time guitarist for Pony Express. I had to re-think, re-learn, & re-gear. The rack equipment that I used with Silver Creek and the other bands I played with just didn't fit the new group or the new style. Because Pony Express tends to run a lower stage volume and run the PA at a moderate level, ultra clear with little effects, I had to play more accurately, with more precise timing. The lower volume meant less sustain because of less natural feedback from the guitar to the amp. I had to focus more. I used to dance, jump & spin around the stage when I was playing with other bands, but I don't have time for any of that with this band.
The focus of Pony Express is traditional country and trick bluegrass, often times at what seems like 100 miles per hour. Many a fill-in musician has gone away with sore fingers from a night of playing with this band. The core of this group is Pat Burr, Kevin Hinkle, our famously fearless leader, Robbie Meadows and his wife Lisa Meadows. I've played with Pony Express since 2000, longer than I've played with any band to date. There's a chemistry that just works. We joke that we're too stupid to quit. In fact, we brag about being too stupid to quit. We make the same money now as we did 20 years ago. In fact, adjusted for inflation, it's gone down by 50% or more. But together we HAVE accomplished some great things-
-We're the only band that has ever played Dukesfest, the annual reunion of the original cast of the Dukes of Hazzard as "Cooter's Garage Band". It all started in 2001 with a crowd of only a few thousand fans in Sperryville, Virginia.
- In 2004 as "Cooter's Garage Band" we played the Midnight Jamboree & the pre-show for the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, Tennesse which was broadcast live on WSM Radio with Gail Davies, Gail's son (who happens to be the steel guitarist for BR549) and others. We met Little Jimmy Dickens!
- In 2005 we played for over 40,000 fans at the Bristol Motor Speedway for Dukesfest '05
-In 2006 as "Cooter's Garage Band" we played for over 100,000 Dukesfest fans at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tennessee.
- June 1st 2007 as "Cooter's Garage Band" we took center stage on the Grand Ol' Opry with the original cast of the original Dukes of Hazzard in Nashville, Tennessee.
We owe a special thanks to Ben Jones and his wife Alma for their dedication & friendship. They could have used top Nashville studio musicians for the work in Nashville and the annual Dukesfest events as well as the Grand Ol' Opry. They chose to stick with us.
Jimmy Fortune & Skyline Drive
In 2007 we began playing dates with Jimmy Fortune, former tenor singer for the Statler Brothers. (If you haven't heard his new songs, you haven't heard Jimmy Fortune. GREAT STUFF!!! Go to www.jimmyfortune.com and hear for yourself!!!)
Then again, maybe we're not too stupid to quit. Maybe we just want to keep hammering it out and see what God has in store for us next.... ;-)